Photo: KWDesigns/Flickr

Childbirth is a feat on its own. But some mamas need more, just to prove they can do it.

Twenty-five-year-old Julianne Hodges did light boxing in high school and college and after having two children, she wanted to get back in shape.

She started boxing at Decatur Boxing Club on New Street. “Back when I was doing it a while ago, I wanted to do amateur bouts,” she says. “I feel like this is the time in my life I really want to pursue that.”

So she signed up for Fight Night.

Scheduled for June 7, Corporate Fight Night pits everyday folks against each other in the ring. The amateur fighters participate in three-round fights.

It’s Hodges’ first time doing the fight and she’s nervous, even though she’s undergoing the 10-week training program with boxing World Champion Terri Moss.

“I’m not even nervous about the actual fighting itself,” she says. “I’m kind of nervous in front of a lot of people and my family. You want to be the best you can.”

Ruckus writer Kristin Moody also has signed up to fight at the event. She started boxing about seven months ago to get fit after having her second child. “If I was going to exercise, I’d rather go to boxing than go to yoga,” she says. “More than that, I felt like, ‘It’s your last chance to do something crazy.’”

Both women are required to raise money for charity as part of participation in the fight night. They’ll be selling high-priced tickets and seeking sponsorships.

Hodges and Moody train four to five days a week, doing endurance exercises and sparring with other fighters.

Hodges is a stay-at-home mom and brings her daughters, ages 3 and 2, to the gym twice a week. There’s no childcare at Decatur Boxing so she brings movies for them to watch on a portable DVD player, but “they think it’s fun to watch [the boxing].” She says, “They’ll get on the steps on the ring and put their heads up and watch.”

Moody’s children don’t accompany her to the gym, and she says that’s one reason she was training so hard before she even signed up to participate in Fight Night. “I was acting like Rocky because I had to pay a babysitter,” she laughs. “You do it enough times, you want to win. I want to get in the ring and actually put it to the test.”

Moody’s daughter Lula, 3, doesn’t even understand what boxing is. And since Moody just spent six months getting her daughter not to hit her friends at school, she doesn’t think Lula will be attending her workout sessions anytime soon.

With Hodges’ daughters watching, she hopes they can take away a feeling of empowerment and confidence. “You’re doing what you want to do,” Hodges says. “It might look different than what they want to do. This is what I really want to do and you can do what you want and be successful.”

Corporate Fight Night is June 7 at the Foundry at Puritan Mill, 916 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd., Atlanta. The event is black-tie with a catered dinner and drinks. Tickets can be purchased at www.corporatefightnight.com.